Born of the Pit
by TheHeartyHobbit
Summary: Drake Matthews was abandoned at birth and left to the care system. He had nothing but now events begin to spiral out of control and he is drawn into the world of Gods, Goddesses and monsters as he discovers who he truly is.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Things hadn't been going fantastically well for me, and that was before the dinner ladies attempted to kill me. My name is Drake Matthews and before today I was just your normal, average orphan. I never knew my real parents and quite frankly I didn't want to know. It was their choice to abandon me fifteen years ago, sixteen tomorrow, at the orphanage. Perhaps they knew I was trouble, that I was different but either way I didn't care; not anymore.

People have often called me intense. Not the incredibly attractive, brooding male ego that the girls go for but the type that gave off a bad aura. It wasn't that I was ugly or anything. At six ft one, with short dark brown hair, significant lack of tan but fairly athletic and my face looked older than I was with outbreaks of spots and eyes as black as coal.

I woke up and stared at the ceiling. Faded white and yellow mixed together to form the characteristics only a government orphanage could be. The paint was peeling off at various points in the room and the solitary light bulb was illuminated in the cold light of dawn.

Greta the care worker yelled up the stairs "Drake get your ass out of bed or no breakfast!"

I sighed knowing all too well she would make good on her promise. Greta was the resident care worker a short stout woman and forty years of working in the care home had erased any compassion she once felt. Hard as nails, she ran the orphanage like a prison, every rule obeyed and practically no escape. I dragged myself out of bed to a standing position and stretched my arms. The bedroom was simple and devoid of personality, a desk stood dejectedly in the corner: unfinished homework strewn across it, a wonky chair kept it company, an IKEA wardrobe and chest of drawers occupied most of the left wall and my creaky bed stooped beneath the window. Throwing on a faded orange t-shirt and some jeans I made my way downstairs.

I was greeted by the mad scramble for breakfast by the other abandoned children. In this house you fight for what you want even breakfast. Years of living at the care home had honed my skills to ninja breakfast from the other kids. The Mavis twins yelled at me as I liberated the corn flakes off them and my snatch for the milk received cries of "Hey" from several of the others. With my treasure claimed I sat down and began munching on my cornflakes. School started soon and a quick look at the clock at the wall told me I didn't have time to shower today. Damn. I stared dejectedly at the cereal weighing up whether it was worth finishing them or turning up to class on time. The choice was made for me when Greta entered the room. She wore incredibly high heels, practically skyscrapers to even stand equal to some of the kids, her signature tartan dress was pristine despite the chaos and her black her tied behind her.

"Right you miserable lot" she started "school starts imminently and I don't care if you're eating or not dressed or whatever. You will all be leaving this building in five minutes and in case you weren't sure that was a command. Now get to it!" and with that she disappeared as promptly as she arrived.

I quickly made for the stairs before the rush of screeching orphans could beat me to it. I scooped up my school bag, tied the laces on my trainers and made for the door.

The cold air of November greeted me and the waning light of morning shone through the skyline illuminating the street. I inwardly cursed myself for not bringing my jumper but unfortunately it was probably too late to go back and get it. Instead I focused on walking faster to Danton High School, a school for children with learning difficulties. It was just another bundle of joy that life had placed on me to not only be a troubled orphan but to have ADHD and dyslexia as well. I became aware of someone running behind me; turning round suddenly, Jodie crashes into me and we fall into a heap on the pavement. Luckily for her she had something soft to land on, unluckily for me that something was yours truly.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I just saw you walking alone and I thought you looked lonely and now I've just made a mess of myself." Jodie fired off in rapid succession as she stood up.

"Don't worry about it" I say hauling myself up "I'd say I appreciate the thought however the thought just sent me flying." She smiles sheepishly and I have time to take her in. She had curly brown hair like really curly, warm brown eyes were hidden beneath the untidy tangle of hair; freckles dusted her face and thick rimmed glasses perched on her nose. With her worn jeans and sleeveless top she looked amazing although I would never admit that. She catches me staring and raises her eyebrow. I quickly look away.

"Let's get a move on or we'll be late and I don't need Greta on my back after last time." I say breaking the awkward silence.

"I agree. She's never forgiven me for the time I smashed that entire stack of plates." She replies and we share a laugh together.

With Jodie the walk seemed to go a lot faster. Of course it helped that occasionally her hand brushed against mine and she would always smile whenever I looked over at her. As we rounded the corner the school seemed to leap out at us. A garish conjunction of modern and new, it was as if the existing Victorian school had grown an enormous building shaped blister. The large block of slate leered out at the crowd of pupil and its multi coloured panels induced queasiness amongst its pupils. It was in essence a really ugly school.

Jodie and I parted ways. She went to the non special school in the Victorian style side of the building and I had the delight of entering the psychedelic prison block. Sighing, I thought to myself, well it's not like it'll kill me.

I had no idea how wrong I was.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- The Beginning of the End

Trudging through the automatic door I almost retch at the assault of vivid colours bombarding my eyes. The interior was very similar to the exterior; vivid shades of every colour aligned each wall and motivational posters were hung up wherever there was space, providing inspirational messages such as "spelling is fun" or "numbers are important". The whole building seemed to have been designed to patronise everyone who walked in. Walking past the stupidly large reception, like stupidly large, I took a left and cut into my "classroom" which was more of a crèche. The floor was scattered with beanbags to make the kids feel "relaxed" and "comfortable" it actually just made it really hard to look serious. There were various puzzles and activities dotted around the room designed to "stimulate learning" although the majority of them were wrecked from years of abuse from its pupils. The class was already half full mainly full of twitchy ADHD kids that looked like a beanbag fight could break out at any second. Honestly, I barely knew them and they barely knew me, although, it didn't stop them from insulting me.

"Hey Drake!" yelled Danny, the class clown and my personal tormentor. "Guess who rang?" He continued. I pull a bean bag against the wall and sit down silently. "Not your parents!" He burst into hysterics as did the rest of the class he could say anything and his pack of cronies would laugh. Counting to 10 quietly to myself I pull out some school work and begin to work on it. Danny it seemed though had other plans. He strolled over to where I sat, flanked by his cronies, and then proceeded to knock the work out of my hands.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you!" he shouted at me. I remain silent. "Are you deaf as well as stupid Drake? Did mommy and daddy not teach you any manners?"

I haul myself to my feet and face Danny. A quiet anger seethed beneath my skin. "You're a fine one to talk about stupidity Drake."

Danny's face contorted with anger and he throws a punch at my face, connecting with a sharp crack and a spray of blood. I stagger, clutching at my bleeding noise; most likely broken. _Fight back _a voice whispers in my head. Rage clutches at the edge of my rational thought and my vision begins to tint with a red glow. Everyday Danny abuses me and every day I take it. Not anymore, this time I fight back. I unleash a roar of anger and launch myself at Danny. Complete surprise crosses his face before I replace it with a whole load of pain. Tackling him to the floor I end up on top, I start laying into him, venting all my anger, fear and rage. Punch after punch connects with Danny, his face a mess of blood and dents. His gang of cronies stare on in bewilderment at the quiet kid who said nothing loses it; they were scared, their fearless leader taken down in a matter of seconds.

Several teachers burst into the room and seeing the situation drag me off Danny. The red glow starts to recede and I simply want to curl up and sleep. I go limp in the teacher's arms and watch with lack of emotion as the cronies explain to a teacher how for no reason I started attacking Danny and how they had tried to break it up. The teacher nods in understanding and as I'm dragged away to the principal's office I hear the voice start laughing deeply.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Today's Special...You!

I was sat outside the office flanked by a teacher looking at me like I was something she had stepped in and wanted to get rid of. We sat there for what seemed like hours and knowing the Principal it may well have been. I was then called into the room the room and with a final look of disgust the teacher walks away, probably to look in disgust at other kids.

The room I enter is spacious and breezy with long thin curtains dancing in the breeze from the open window. Strange modern art is hung on the walls and peculiar bookshelves are lined with titles such as "100 ways to lighten the mood" and "How to run a school: a beginner's guide". Sitting at a large C shaped desk sat the Mr Brown in a battered armchair. His grey hair, receding hair line, and thick brimmed glasses were completely at odds with the Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip flops. I suspected he had a mid life crisis fairly recently or was just really weird.

"Take a seat Drake" he says motioning to a chair that had piles of what looked like test papers labelled FAILS, there was a lot of them needless to say. I remain standing. He frowns but nevertheless continues.

"I understand you had a fight with Danny today." he starts "as you know this school tolerates a great deal of things" he pauses as if wondering for the first time how much they actually tolerated. "However, violence is prohibited and looked down on, especially unprovoked violence."

I begin to protest against him but he silences me with a hand motion.

"Now since this is your first time in trouble and considering your home life I have decided to let this slide. However, if I hear any more from you the consequences shall be a lot tougher. So if you do have a problem with Danny then I would suggest avoiding him. Dismissed."

I mutter thanks as I leave towards the door. That was likely to be the best thing that could have happened considering the talk was very one sided. I step out into the hallway and check my watch; lunch started half an hour ago, damn. I take off in a brisk walk to the canteen to try and get something to eat before they shut.

Lucky for me the canteen was still open and even better Jodie was sat at a table. She waved at me and I waved back smiling. I walk over to the actual kitchen area and begin to queue behind a burly year nine. A smell of decay permeated the air becoming stronger the nearer I got to the kitchen. I almost start gagging and the guy in front of me looked weirdly at me seemingly oblivious to the stench. The smell reminded me of road kill mixed with mouldy gym socks to create a military grade toxin.

Still gagging I reach the front of the cue and locate the source of the stench- Three dinner ladies stood behind the counter and the smell oozed off of them in waves, they were short in stature, had long hair and freakishly covered in scales. I do a quick double take and yup, the scales were still there. Their serpentine eyes bore into me and I swear I saw one of them lick its lips with a long forked tongue.

The middle dinner lady spoke "Drake Matthewsssss, we have been waiting and well, it wassss definitely worth the weight. You reek of demigod ssscum."

Kicking out my stupor I retort back "You don't smell too great yourselves!"

They hiss and whisper to themselves. I overhear "child of the pit" and they suddenly seem to lose some of their bravado.

"It matters little whose child you are or what blood you have running through your veins. You shall perish to the Scythian Dracanae" She cried lunging at me over the counter with razor sharp claws.

I threw myself backwards only just dodging the arc of certain death. The dinner ladies or "Dracanae" started to slither over the counter using two large snake tails as legs. Starting to freak out I search for anything to use as a weapon against the oncoming snake ladies. Spotting a nearby chair I reach out to grab it and start jabbing at the snake ladies. Hissing in displeasure they quickly slice through the chair with their claws as if it were butter.

"Drake!" a familiar voice calls out from across the hall "What the hell's going on? What have you done? Why do the dinner ladies have knives?"

I stare at her in disbelief. How could she not see what I'm seeing? In the brief pause I had taken the middle Dracanae lunged forward and raked me across the chest, tearing my T-Shirt into tatters and opening up numerous lacerations across my chest. I clutch my chest trying to staunch the flow of blood albeit rather unsuccessfully. Jodie begins to scream and runs for the door; it seemed everyone else had jumped ship as soon as the fight broke out. The Dracanae on the left lunges after her; moving with surprising speed. A roar of anger breaks out, echoing in the large room and with a start I realise I was the one making it. It was if a dam had broken within me and wave of energy poured out towards the running monster. Seemingly sensing the danger, the monster turned mid slither only to be hit by the dark wall of energy; instantly disintegrating into ash. Its sisters wail in terror and start to flee toward the kitchen.

I reach up to my nose and pull my hand away to stare at the blood flowing freely from my nose, I stare over at Jodie and she looks at me in horror; a look that will haunt me for the rest of my life, my only friend was scared of me. The ground then rushes up to meet me and my last vision was the door of the canteen being kicked open by two people clad in Greek armour; one carrying a bow and the other a sickle. That was when I knew I was hallucinating.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-Awakening

I dreamt I was in a large chasm its walls shrouded in darkness and I was standing at the edge of a bottomless pit. I could feel a dark presence emanating from it and fear began to flood through my veins. _You have done well Drake. You have begun to master your powers but the storm is coming and you shall be alone as you forever shall be._

"Who are you?" I call out into the void.

A brief chuckle is drawn from the being. _A fine question and one that is easily within my power to answer; I am the void._

I wake up with a start. Two faces stare at me; one a girl and the other a boy. The girl looked about fifteen with flawless farmer's tan skin, hair as black as night that cascaded down her shoulders, large brown doe eyes and a petite frame. She wore an orange T-shirt that read "Camp Half-Blood" and jeans cut off above her knees. The only thing that disturbed me was the large bronze sickle strapped to her leg. The boy wasn't much better; about fifteen again, with strong broad shoulders, short blonde hair bleached by the sun, piercing blue eyes and a bronze tan. In essence he was a really buff surfer outfitted in a too small orange "Camp Half-Blood" T-shirt and black board shorts, to top it off he had a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder.

I immediately try to stand to my feet and feel the floor wobble beneath me. I take in my immediate surroundings only to be blasted in the face by a cloud and for the record, clouds are cold, wet and all round unpleasant. The two kids leap up after me.

"Woah buddy, don't stand up so fast, you'll tip the chariot." The boy exclaimed.

"Don't start Marcus." She said turning to who I now presume is Marcus before turning back to me "I know this is going to be really confusing for you and you probably won't believe me. However your life is on the line and you need to know."

"Is Jodie ok?" I interrupt already panicking that the demon dinner ladies attacked her.

"You mean the girl with the curly brown hair and glasses?" The girl asks.

"Yes, is she ok?" I repeat

"Ummmmm, if you count running away screaming as ok; then she's absolutely terrific but otherwise she's fine." She says flashing me a smile which I resisted the urge to hit.

"Drake there are things you should know, right now you're in a lot more danger than that mortal girl." The boy named Marcus interrupted.

"Maybe you should start by telling me where the hell I am!" I reply directing the comment at the petit girl.

She looks startled as if she hadn't expected me to be surprised to wake up flying through the air in a magical chariot-which by the looks of it was being pulled by two white horses with wings-.

"Oh yeah I forgot about that. Hmmmm. Well as you may have noticed we're flying, on a chariot, pulled by Pegasi, um that's about it. I'm not really sure why you're so confused."

I stare at her flabbergasted and she takes the opportunity to continue.

"Have you heard of the stories about the Greek Gods and monsters?" she asked. I nod slowly. "Well there all true ish. Some are skewed a bit here and there but they're mainly pretty accurate so you better start taking this as truth or face being skewered by a monster." She pauses and looks at me "Still following?"

"I think so" I reply

"Excellent" she says flashing me an award winning smile. Marcus rolls his eyes and groans to which she responds by kicking causing the chariot to rock a little.

"Anyways you, Marcus and I are half-bloods or demi-gods. Personally I prefer half-bloods makes it seem a little more down to Earth however, either one works." She continues.

"You mean my mum or dad is a Greek God?" I ask.

"Yup and a pretty powerful one at that, I'm thinking one of the big three. What about you Marcus?"

"Definitely, the way those dracanae ran from you, that takes some doing." Marcus answers

"Big three?" I ask

"Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. Personally I'm thinking Hades but we'll find out soon enough." The girl answers

"Who are you by the way?" I ask the girl who so far has managed to avoid introducing herself.

Gesturing with her hands "I am Daphne daughter of Demeter" She says with a flourish ending with a bow.

"I'm Marcus in case you didn't know, son of Apollo; hence the bow" he says curtly nodding towards the bow slung over his shoulder.

The chariot starts shuddering and the pegasi start neighing in alarm.

"Daphne go sort out the pegasi. Feed them some hay or something." Marcus says as the pegasi crane their heads round and give her the bambi eyes.

Daphne dutifully does what she's told but mutters obscenities about being a walking stable as she does it. Marcus sits me down leaning against the chariot side and takes a seat next to me.

"I don't want to scare you or anything but you deserve to know." He says leaning against the chariot

"Deserve to know what?" I reply

"You are one of the most powerful demi-gods in existence right now and up until this morning nobody knew you existed. At about half seven in the morning all the satyrs went crazy, they all sensed an immensely powerful demi-god just appear"

"Sense"

"Yeah, satyrs are very in tune with nature and they can usually sense and track demi-gods and the stronger you are the stronger your smell so to speak"

"So the dinner ladies weren't lying when they said I smelled?"

"Well yes, to monsters right now you smell like an all you can eat buffet and they want nothing more to tear you apart and devour you."

"Fantastic" I say sarcastically

"It's a bummer, but was that the first time you've been attacked?"

"Yeah, it was quite the shock to suddenly be greeted by snake ladies posing as dinner ladies."

He frowns "So it's as we thought, you quite literally just appeared on everyone's radar including monsters. With such a powerful scent you should have been attacked nonstop meaning something or someone has been shielding you"

"Shielded?"

"Basically hiding your scent, to be honest I have no idea how that could be done but I imagine it would be a powerful God with an interest in you. For example your Godly parent he or she may want to hide you away to stop other Gods interfering"

"Why?"

"Well, when Gods go off the rails and have kids with mortals they usually have immortal partners who generally don't like the fact their husband or wife just cheated on them. A good example of this is when Hera tried to kill Hercules by sending snakes into his cradle when he was a baby"

"Nice lady"

"She really isn't"

"So you're saying I have a mum or a dad, that's a God, who's been shielding me from everyone, all of a sudden stops and leaves me to the mercy of snake ladies?"

"Yes, also you're one of the most powerful demi-gods we're aware of right now so a lot of things will probably try and kill you; including some of the gods."

"I'm glad that's sorted. So where are we going?"

"Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place for Greek demi-gods" Daphne says as she walks back over "It's a camp where you can train, rest and live. In your case it will most likely be your home for the foreseeable future." She says cheerily

"What!"

"Well you can always try your chances elsewhere but every monster in the nearby vicinity will be drawn to you like a moth to a flame so your chances of survival are pretty slim" She replies "Oh and if you're wondering about that mortal girl you'd only make her life a helluva lot more dangerous."

I slump as I remember the look of fear on her face after I disintegrated the dracanae. She's scared of me and for good reason.

"It's for the best Drake. Mortals and demi-gods don't tend to mix without someone getting hurt." Marcus says trying and failing to comfort me.

"When we get to camp we'll go straight to Chiron. Don't tell anyone anything until you speak to Chiron. Got it?" Daphne says.

I nod my head still slumped in misery. The pegasi whinny loudly.

"You might want to take a look Drake. We've arrived at camp half-blood." Marcus says to me gesturing over at the hillside.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Arrival

I leaned my head over the side of the chariot and gasped as the most ridiculous summer camp appeared before me. It was set into a large hill with large fields of strawberries erupting from the ground as if they had never heard of a thing called winter. A large U of cabins occupied the centre of the camp all fashioned differently; about twenty or so and a canoeing lake to the West. A steady stream of campers flowed between the cabins, although some appeared to be completely empty, the campers seemed to orientate toward a large pavilion where the most heavenly aroma was being emitted. My stomach growling I continued to gaze at the camp. A large wood sprawled out from the north as if to reclaim the camp as its own and I swear I saw green tinged women flitting between the tree trunks. A full scale arena and amphitheatre occupied more of the space and a large climbing wall with lava spewing down it stood solemnly next to the amphitheatre as if daring someone to challenge it.

The chariot lurches into a steep dive cutting off my view of the rest of the camp. Marcus and Daphne hold on tight and I quickly follow their example. A large wooden house comes quickly into view and the chariot tips forward as the pegasi land. We skid along the gravel path and the pegasi turn to us and Marcus quickly hops out and starts to undo their reigns. Daphne daintily steps off the chariot and beckons me to follow.

"This is the big house!" she exclaims with a flourish and living up to its name it is indeed very big. A large wood cabin affair painted baby blue with a white trim. It had several floors with an attic room at the top with a circular window coated with a layer of dust and grime. A deck juts out from the building covered in an array of deck chairs and tables with half finished card games which Daphne has already started walking towards.

"Come on, Mr D and Chiron will want to see you." She calls back after climbing the steps. I quickly chase after her; not wanting to get smote by the God of tardiness and enter through the doorway.

The interior of the cabin reflected the exterior; the furnishings were simple but cosy and a small fire blazed in the corner basking the room in warm light. Daphne cut through a door to the left and I reluctantly left the cosy living room and followed her into the corridor. Weapons hung on the walls and photos of famous people with their names and their godly parent. There were a surprising number that I recognised I start to slow down to examine them but was quickly grabbed by the hand and led through another open door.

The room had bookshelves lining the walls and a large TV screen was embedded in one of the walls. Bad Italian music played from a boom box on a table in the corner complete with screech violins and garbled singing. The room was taken up by a large desk; neatly organised, it had a desk lamp, with paper and pens ready to write and a comfy high back chair. Although what really grabbed my attention was the half man half horse person that occupied the room with another man in who was to be honest a little upstaged by the centaur in the room. He was a white stallion from the waist down but wore a casual shirt and waistcoat on his human half. He turned to stare at me and his intense brown eyes, thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows and scraggly beard made me feel as if he were determining my worth by the second.

The other man was still quite the character; chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, I would have sworn it was purple. He was wearing a tiger striped Hawaiian shirt, deep wine coloured shorts and running shoes but by the looks of it he doesn't go running often. However it was his eyes that drew my attention; bloodshot, they drew my gaze towards irises that flickered with a purple flame and the sense that many had gone insane staring into those very eyes.

"Stop that Mr D. We don't want him harmed yet." The centaur spoke although the "yet" didn't exactly reassure me.

The other man shifts his gaze and I suddenly flicker back to reality as if I had been in a trance. I blink really hard and look over to Daphne who's giving me a worried glance.

"You can go now Danni." The man calls out at her. It was more of a command than a suggestion. She mouths _Good Luck_ as she walks out.

"I suppose we should start with some introductions then" the centaur starts "I am Chiron, Director of Camp Half-Blood and this is Mr D or as you may know him as Dionysus, God of wine, madness, theatre and vegetation."

"The wine dude?" I reply instantly regretting it when Mr D stares daggers at me and being a God I suppose he could.

"Why am I always known as the wine dude? Do I call people names because of what they're God's of, it's like calling Poseidon "Barnacle Breath" it's just plain rude. And you better remember that!" Rant over, he slumps back into his chair plucking a wine magazine out of the air which he proceeds to flick through.

Chiron raises his eyebrows at the rant as if he's heard it a lot. "As I was saying, you have been brought here Drake because you are a Demigod, half mortal and half God. You will live here at Camp Half-Blood and be trained to defend yourself against monsters." He quickly silenced my protests at the idea of living here. "Unfortunately Drake, you are a very powerful Demigod indeed and one that is likely to bring danger anywhere he goes. Here you can live and learn in safety."

I was about to protest about how unfair it was but I suddenly realised; I didn't have a home to go back to, no one really cared about me except Jodie and now she's terrified of me. Here I can live in peace, maybe even make friends and have a new family. My heart lifted at this thought and I grew bold.

"So who are my parents?" I ask; a question I never thought would be answered.

"Well... We don't actually know." Chiron admitted "We know for certain that you have a mortal parent but so far none of the Gods are claiming you as theirs. It's quite the matter of debate in Olympus. All the Gods are blaming each other you see; mainly the Big Three as their children tend to be the most powerful."

"Great, even now I'm still not wanted." I say, my heart once again feeling heavy.

"Not necessarily, but the deadline to claim you is tomorrow at midnight, after that the promise the gods made to claim their children before 13 or the first night of camp is broken. And when a promise on the River Styx is broken... well it's not good for the person who broke it, be it God or man." Chiron continued nodding at Mr D.

Mr D looks up and gives me a quick appraisal. "You're not much for such a powerful Demigod, then again Perseus was the same; quite the scrawny lad but he achieved great things. Well, since you have not yet been determined you'll be staying in the Hermes Cabin." He turns to go back to his magazine but hesitates and says in a dark tone "You better not cause any trouble Drake Matthews. You may well be the son of a powerful God but it won't stop me from thinking of other punishments worse than death." His eyes flare with a purple fire but quickly extinguish as he turns back to his magazine; tutting in disgust at some wine or another.

Chiron nodded in agreement

Daphne, come in here" Chiron calls out and Daphne sweeps into the room her long black flying in different directions.

"Chiron?" She says beaming at him.

Chiron frowns a little but persists.

"I need you to show Drake around, tell him what he needs to know and for the gods' sakes get him some food; he looks famished." As he spoke my stomach growled loudly eliciting a raised eyebrow from Mr D.

"I would love to Chiron. Is it also ok if I bring along Marcus to help out?" She said sweetly

"Yes that will be fine but don't get sidetracked" He replies and Daphne erupts in a scarlet blush.

She manages to squeak out "We're not, you know, ummm, just friends, ummm, thankyou" and makes for the door, hair flying out hiding her crimson face.

Chiron smiles as she leaves and beckons me to follow her. Leaving the God and centaur behind I chase after a swift moving Daphne and step out of the house staring forlornly at the inviting living room and crackling fire as I leave.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Camp

Dusk had fallen quickly but braziers lit up the darkness casting dancing shadows across the ground. Daphne was stood on the deck fanning her face in an attempt to dispel the crimson from her cheeks. Her back was to me and I approached carefully all too aware of the razor sharp sickle strapped to her thigh.

"Are you ok?" I ask tentatively not wanting my oxygen supply to be cut off by the petit girl in front of me.

"Yeah I'm fine I just..." She trailed off

"So do you actually go out with Marcus?" I ask and instantly regret it as she whips her head round and stares daggers at me.

"I was just asking" I quickly add before she decided she wanted to rearrange my face with her sickle.

She slumps as if the fight had gone out of her.

"I wish" she says flumping down onto the step of the deck "He was the first person I met when I got to camp. He showed me all this." She makes a sweeping motion with her hands.

"He's my best friend and yes I really like him. Although he doesn't know, it seems everyone knows but him. He's the one thing I want but can't have; he just treats me as a friend, nothing more" Daphne admits and a tear begins to trace down her cheek.

Whilst I found it amusing that a girl had been "friend zoned" I felt certain empathy for the girl who I only just met and up until five minutes ago looked as if she couldn't be happier. Unsure of what to do I put my arm round her and she leans against my shoulder. I can't help but think of Jodie and long for what could have been.

From a side path from around the house walks Marcus and as he saw us his smiling face flickered and his expression changed to surprise and even faster again: jealousy. Seeing him, Daphne leaps up, wiping away tears as she does so. Marcus' facial expression changed back to a casual smile but the fire of jealousy was still there; even as Daphne walked over to him. He gave me a look that said _I don't like you_ and I didn't think it was because of how I smelled. He then turned back to Daphne smiling.

"Chiron asked me to show Drake round and I kinda maybe volunteered you to help." She said to him giving him the bambi treatment.

"That should be nice; it's always good to have some new blood" He said putting extra emphasis on "blood".

Daphne smiled at him.

"I'm starving do you want to go get some food Marcus?" Daphne said edging closer toward Marcus.

"Yeah I feel like I could eat an elephant!" Marcus replied.

"Oh and Drake you can come too" Daphne added, missing Marcus' glare at me.

They walk down the path together and I follow behind with them occasionally pointing out points of interest. Such as the stables where the pegasi where kept, the armoury filled with sharp, dangerous and pointy things. As we walked I couldn't help but feel I had walked in on the strangest love story created. With both lovers obviously liking each other, flirting with each other, spending time together and yet they were completely unaware of the other's feelings. I was completely baffled and before too long we arrived at a large pavilion.

There were many long tables covered in white table clothes fringed with purple. They surrounded a large bonfire in the centre and the tables all appeared to have a different symbol emblazoned on the cloth.

"So here we are, albeit rather late, but I'm sure the nymphs will cut us some slack. Usually you would sit on your table with the rest of your cabin, however, seeing as it's late and you're new we'll sit at the Hermes table. I'm sure their cabin won't mind us sitting together and after all he is the god of travellers." Daphne said as she took a seat at a table emblazoned with a caduceus.

Marcus took a seat next to her and I took a seat opposite. I suspected she had other reasons for wanting to sit together and not just to teach me the ropes.

"Right, just ask for some food Drake, as simple as that" Marcus said still clearly weary of me.

A little disbelieving I call out "Ummm... Can I have some food please?"

A flurry of movement happens on the table and a small banquet appears including, BBQ, grapes, several varieties of cheese, fresh bread and lots more. The smell was heavenly and I look to see a goblet placed next to me by a beautiful woman; elf like in appearance she wore very little and her revealed skin was tinged green. She giggled at me then disappeared in flurry of leaves. Flabbergasted I look over to see Daphne and Marcus cracking up at me.

"You should see your face!" Daphne said cracking up in hysterics and I felt my face go as scarlet as Daphne's earlier.

"Ask for a drink now, the goblet's enchanted to provide any drink you want." Marcus says between giggles.

Deciding to roll with the joke I spoke out loud again. "Please can I have Fanta in my goblet?" I raise my eyebrows in disbelief as the goblet fills up with the orange liquid.

Shrugging, I take a sip and start to dig into the food.

"Woah, wait a sec. You need to make an offering first Drake. Otherwise the gods will be even more annoyed at you." Daphne stood up plate in hand and walked towards the bonfire and scraped part of her food into the fire which appeared to glow brighter.

Marcus went next and his mouth murmured some words as he scraped the food into the fire. I followed suit scraping some of the best BBQ I had into the fire. Then I did something I have never done before. I prayed. "Please someone claim me up there I don't want to be alone anymore." Feeling silly I stepped back but the fire flared up stronger and burnt with delicious smell of BBQ.

I reclaimed my spot at the table and started to pig out; not caring about manners. The other two spoke quietly to each other, sharing in the other's company. How are these guys not going out yet? I thought to myself after eating my eighth BBQ pork brisket and downing another mouthful of Fanta. I carried on eating until my stomach started protesting and sat back feeling satisfied.

Seeing me finish Daphne speaks "I'll take you over to the Hermes cabin now, hopefully they're all asleep otherwise well... The offspring of Hermes are...interesting"

Flashing Marcus a smile she led me down the path and I could almost feel invisible daggers in my back as Marcus looked on. I got the feeling he didn't want to settle our differences with a counselling session.

The pavilion fades into the gloom and we make our way to the U of cabins I saw from above. We walked in silence partially because I didn't want to make Marcus any more annoyed at me because I spoke to the girl he blatantly liked. The U comes into view and it was the weirdest assortment of cabins I have ever seen.

There were about twenty in total of varying shapes and sizes. Two huge marble cabins stood at the lead of the U pronouncing their right to lead, a low and long cabin stood nearby facing out to the sea; its walls embedded with coral and sea shells. Another looked as if it was a fortress rather than a cabin; with badly painted red walls and barbed wire lining its roof. There were many more including one that shimmered as if bathed in moonlight, a squat building with smoke and fire belching out of a chimney, a windowless cabin of obsidian with glowing green torches repelling the night and many more.

Daphne looked over with a knowing smile and we carried on walking until we came to a stop in front of a well, fairly standard cabin; not nearly as exciting as the others. It was the largest of all the cabins but was clearly the most used. Its brown paint was chipped and peeling off on most walls and the deck was worn by the many feet that came and went. A large caduceus hung over the door threatening to flatten the next camper who walked in.

"Well this is Cabin 11 or Hermes' Cabin. It's not much to look at but up until recently it held all the campers that the Gods hadn't claimed, so it was a little crowded." Daphne says staring it over. "It's also pretty messy and the offspring of Hermes are..."

"Interesting?" I venture

"I was going to say pain in the arses but we'll go with interesting. Make sure to keep your wits about you otherwise you'll end up with Easter bunnies on your roof." She finishes and starts to walk away.

"Easter bunnies?" I call out after her but either she can't hear me or doesn't choose to answer as she disappears into the night.

_Here goes nothing_ I thought walking up the stairs and pushing the door open. I was greeted by the image of a fairly crowded interior with beds here, there and everywhere. The majority of them seemed unoccupied as if they weren't needed anymore and they were stripped bare of sheets. As I take another step in a voice calls out to me in a hushed tone.

"New kid eh?" A skinny kid with a sharp nose, upturned eyebrows and a crooked smile says. He stands up from the bed he was sitting on. His shaggy blonde hair stuck out in tufts. "Name's Sam, cabin counsellor. I've been waiting up for you." Reaching out his hand for a handshake, taking it I'm surprised by a strong grip.

"Yeah I'm Drake, got here today. I was told I'm sleeping here" I reply still cautious of the impish boy who had greeted me.

"Determined or not?" He asks

"Ummm not determined" I answer

"Follow me; we've made up a bed for you." He says gesturing me to follow.

A small squat bed sits in the back corner of the cabin with poorly laid bedding put down and a mattress with stuffing falling out. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Well this is your bed for tonight, ummm sorry about the mess; we're not particularly good at chores so you're bed is a little haphazard. Oh and watch out for the spring" He frowns at the bed as if trying to determine where it was. "It's somewhere in there. Dump your stuff under the bed and we'll get you outfitted tomorrow." He concludes and slips back to his bed.

Too exhausted to care about springs or getting changed I collapse onto the bed and immediately regret it as the spring cuts into my leg. I curse under my breath and I hear a chuckle from across the cabin. Regaining my composure I get as comfortable as possible on the nightmare bed and fall into a deep sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Trial by Fire

I start to wake when I hear: giggling? I become aware of several people around my bed speaking in hushed tones; "quiet you'll wake him" said one of the people and another was giggling wildly. I feel something slightly damp scratching at my forehead and I jolt awake realising what was going on. Jumping out of bed I scatter the giggling crowd of kids who had witnessed the defacing of my forehead.

"You little monsters!" I yell at them; now fully awake

The kid with the sharpie yelped and started running. Pushing past the others I quickly give chase after him. He was pretty fast for a kid that could only have been seven or eight. He laughs as he darts in and out of the beds, his messy black hair rippling. He pegs it over to the door and manages to shove past a girl entering the door escaping to the outside. Not willing to let him go that easily I sprint at the opening. Only to have a door slam in my face and to be sent flying on my back.

"Rough first morning huh?" Sam says mockingly as he gives me a hand up

"You could call it that" I reply and he laughs.

"Don't mind them, they're only having a bit of fun and besides you have other stuff to worry about." He says seriously.

"Like what"

"The bold 'doofus' written across your forehead!" He says breaking out laughing

I rub my hand across my forehead and see it come away covered in black ink. I curse under my breath although I had to admit that kid had guts.

"Don't worry about it, you needed a wash anyway" he says taking an over exaggerated sniff "we'll head over to the showers and get you some new clothes. You certainly need some" pointing towards my tattered T-Shirt from where the Dracanae clawed it.

Nodding in agreement I follow him out to the showers after putting on my shoes. The walk took me past the cabins with most having camper streaming in and out of them except for a few. I point towards the four.

"Why don't they have campers?" I ask as we walk.

"Well, one is Hera's; Goddess of families so naturally she's not one to be having affairs with mortals, another is Artemis' which occasionally has her hunters in but not often and the other cabins belong to the big three." Sam replies

"Zeus, Poseidon and Hades?"

"Those are the ones. It's rare they have kids but it happens for example a couple of years back we had a son of Poseidon. He made quite a name for himself."

"People were saying that I might be a son of the big three" I said quietly.

Sam's eyes take a sharp gleam

"Really now? How interesting."

I get the feeling I may have just made a big mistake however Sam's eyes return to normal and cheerfully goes back to whistling and walking.

Reaching the wash house, I'm gestured in by Sam joining the fairly steady stream of campers already going in.

I quickly strip off my clothing and put it on the side. Grabbing a towel I enter a stall and unwind in the hot water; the tension of the yesterday washing away. _It doesn't seem too bad here, _I thought to myself _even if my Godly parent won't claim me_ although I was drawn back to malevolent voice that spoke to me the other day and I somehow knew it was only going to get harder.

Sighing I shut off the water and wrap the towel round my waist. I step out the cubicle and yell as Sam is standing right there. He smiles at condescendingly and I scowl back at him.

"Didn't mean to frighten you" he says and throws me an orange t-shirt with Camp Half-Blood and Pegasus insignia and a simple pair of black shorts.

"You can keep your trainers but we've taken the liberty of burning your old socks. They really stank."

I nod in agreement; the aroma from those socks could have warded off any monster.

"I'll see you at breakfast." And with that he takes his leave.

The mere mention of breakfast causes my stomach to growl and I quickly get changed although carefully checking the clothing for pranks; still remembering the sharpie I had washed off.

I jog over to the dining pavilion eager not to miss breakfast and sit with the Hermes Cabin as they start to tuck into the food. I spot the kid who drew on my forehead and stare daggers at him only to receive an impish smile in return. Discarding him from my thoughts I grab a plate of food and offer a small portion to the Gods once again causing the flame to burn brighter. Reclaiming my seat I dig in.

After breakfast I followed the rest of the Hermes cabin to the arena for "training" and I suspected it wouldn't be training for a sport.

"Listen up cupcakes!" yelled a boy in full greek armour "Today you'll be sword fighting and I'll be damned if you don't work hard. So pick a partner and grab a sword and shield from the rack! And no magical items!" a mutter went up from the crowds. "This is a trial of your ability not some item from your parent. Now begin!" and with that the boy started overseeing the weapons being handed out.

A familiar black haired girl pushes through the crowd carrying a shield and sword that looked far too big for her petit frame.

"I got these for you" Daphne said handing me the circular bronze shield and sword. She noticed my confused look.

"All our weapons are made out of celestial bronze, the only metal that can deal real damage to monsters, well there's also imperial gold but... it's used by the others." She says vaguely. "It also has the added bonus of not being able to harm mortals; so not accidental beheadings." She says smiling and I get the feeling she wasn't joking. "We'll get you some proper equipment afterwards but for now it's the sword and shield."

I weigh up the sword in my hand but the shield feels far too bulky; discarding it on the ground. Daphne leaps back and draws her sickle, her eyes grow tense and she crouches low to the ground. It suddenly dawns on me that she meant to fight me.

"Slow down Daphne, this is hardly a fair figh-"I'm cut off mid sentence as Daphne leaps at me and goes for my shoulder.

I quickly pull up my sword and the sickle clangs against it. I suddenly realised Daphne wasn't holding back and she wasn't the one to be feeling intimidated. She launches another lightning fast slash at my now exposed thigh and she connects with a rip of fabric and a spurt of blood. I cry out in pain and clutch the wound whilst holding up my sword in front of me. Daphne smiles sweetly at me and starts to circle me. In desperation I look over to the instructor only for him to stare back at me; interested but not concerned. Anger starts to clutch at my heart and my vision starts to tint red.

Taking my hand away from the wound I run forward to meet Daphne before she could pounce once more. I swear I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes and then I was upon her. I made a sweeping strike across her chest which she only just blocked. Not waiting for her to retaliate I slash again at her, another weak defence greeted my blade. Blood poured from my wound the exertion causing it to rip open further. I vented all my rage into my strikes; all the anger of being alone, anger of being abandoned by my parents, anger of losing Jodie. I strike once more in a vicious downward arc and the blade and sickle shatter as they meet in a piercing crack.

Every head in the arena turns toward me and Daphne who was now lying on the ground staring at me in fear. The red tint left my vision and pain and exhaustion consumed me as I fell to the ground. I stare at my blood staining the sand scarlet and the shattered remnant of the blade falls to my side. Once more my vision goes dark and I hear the yell of "Ambrosia!" echo out from the arena as the instructor rushes over to me.


End file.
